Running back Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run in Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills kicked up a wave of Internet controversy. Should Warren be the starter over Najee Harris? The outside will continue to talk but internally, for offensive coordinator Matt Canada, there’s no debate.
Speaking to reporters prior to the team’s Monday practice, Canada declared Harris as the clear No. 1 runner.
“Najee is our 1,” he said as tweeted by The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”
As Canada noted, and Adamski tweeted, Harris’ limited workload has been about keeping him healthy for Week One. That was our evaluation in our camp report, that noted his uninspiring camp was largely by design. Here’s part of what we wrote.
“Context is key and Pittsburgh was careful with him the way they were with Le’Veon Bell and James Conner once they became established runners and top backs in the Steelers’ system. Harris was rarely tackled this camp. In the team run periods that had full-contact, Harris was usually an exception, players “thudding” him instead of trying to take him to the ground. He was tackled a handful of times throughout camp, mostly in seven shots or goal line.”
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor added a bit more color to the quote, Canada noting that they plan on “Najee being Najee” once the regular season begins.
Here is Canada’s full quote.
“We’re going into it like that. Najee is our one, there’s no doubt about that,” he said via Jeff Hathhorn and 93.7 The Fan. “I think we’re protecting him to get him to that point. We’re never gonna lock ourselves into any kind of ‘what it’s gonna be or how it’s gonna go.’ I don’t think that’s fair to anybody. But certainly, we’re planning on Najee being Najee when we start the regular season.”
In the preseason opener, Harris didn’t see a single carry and only caught one short pass. Over the weekend, he carried the ball twice for six yards. He’s expressed a desire to play more but Pittsburgh has limited him after he suffered a summer toe injury a year ago, hindering him until after the bye week.
Warren should still have a key and obvious role in the Steelers offense. He’s likely to continue working as the team’s third down back, a role he took over in Week Five last season. He should also rotate with Harris on early downs, perhaps more than he did in 2022. To a similar but lesser degree, Pittsburgh has also managed Warren’s reps, though he’s seen more action inside stadiums.
To the Steelers, they see both players as key pieces to their ground game. But to hear it from Matt Canada, Harris is the clear top back in the Steelers offense.
